Offshore Litigation Blog

In the recent decision of Unicorn Biotech Ventures One Ltd v Unicorn Biotech Ventures Two Ltd the Grand Court has for the first time considered the issue of whether it has jurisdiction to compel parties to participate in alternative dispute resolution (ADR) against their wishes, and if so, what factors should be taken into account.

Harneys successfully opposed a claimant’s application seeking the Court’s leave to testify via videoconference during civil proceedings, before the District Court of Limassol, due to alleged health issues that prevented the claimant from travelling to Cyprus to testify.

In the recent decision of Rodrigues v Wakefield Quin Limited, the Supreme Court of Bermuda clarified the high threshold for pleading fraud; determined it had not been met on the facts of the case; struck out the case and made an indemnity costs award against the plaintiffs and their Bermuda counsel for pleading fraud without “credible material” to establish a prima facie case of fraud.

The Cayman Islands Grand Court has awarded indemnity costs in respect of an abusive application for the deferral of a company’s dissolution upon the completion of its voluntary liquidation: In re Skye Assets Fund SPC (in Voluntary Liquidation).

In a recent decision of the Bermuda Court of Appeal, the judgment in Afiniti, Ltd. v Chishti offered a nuanced costs ruling following an appeal with mixed outcomes. The case provides valuable insights into the apportionment of costs in litigation where neither party emerges as a clear winner.

In another major success for a Harneys team run out of its London office, Justice Mangatal’s judgment is the first to clarify the proper interpretation of s49 of the BVI Business Companies Act 2004 (BCA). The judgment resolves a longstanding question as to the necessary formalities for a person to become a shareholder in a BVI company.

In the recent decision of Justice Webster in Oscar Trustee Limited v MBS Software Solutions Limited, a non-party costs order and the permission for service of such application out of jurisdiction have been set aside on the ground that rule 7.14 of the BVI Civil Procedure Rules 2000 (now rule 7.17 of Civil Procedure Rules (Revised Edition) 2023) cannot be a free-standing gateway for service of an application out of jurisdiction.

In the case of In the Matter of Orient TM Parent Ltd (Unrep, Grand Court, 27 July 2022), the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands dismissed with indemnity costs the petitioners’ application for the appointment of joint provisional liquidators (the JPLs) and alternative injunctive relief relating to the company’s assets.

This article will examine how a trustee can seek the court’s approval of its participation in any such litigation by ordering that the trustee be indemnified in respect of costs from the trust funds.

On 29 February 2024, the BVI Commercial Court handed down its much-anticipated decision in Joint Stock Company “Alfa-Bank” v Kipford Ventures Limited discharging the sanctioned Bank’s second application for an interim injunction against Kipford (the Second Injunction Application) and stayed its claim pending further order.

On 17 January 2024, the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal handed down its decision in Lau Man Sang, James et al v King Bun Limited et al affirming the lower court’s discretionary power to award costs following a split trial to determine liability. In upholding the costs order of Wallbank J, the Court of Appeal confirmed that there was no need to wait until the issues of relief and quantum are decided.

In a recent Privy Council decision in Arjoon v Daniel [2023] UKPC 42, on appeal from the Court of Appeal …